Beautiful (Christina Aguilera Song)

Beautiful (Christina Aguilera Song)

"Beautiful" is a song recorded by American singer Christina Aguilera. The song was written and produced by Linda Perry for Aguilera's fourth studio album, Stripped (2003). A pop ballad, it tells the story of a woman who is fighting against low self-esteem and insecurity issues; its main message is about inner beauty and not letting other people's opinions and words disturb one's peace of mind.

RCA released "Beautiful" to American radio stations on January 16, as the second single of the album. The song became a commercial success, topping the charts in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. In the United States it peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, (Aguilera's only number two hit on that chart so far). The single was certified platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), and gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ).

"Beautiful" received general acclaim from critics and has been noted as one of Aguilera's strongest singles. The song won the Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance at the 2004 ceremony and was also nominated for Song of the Year. It was ranked number 52 on Rolling Stone's Top 100 songs of the decade, and at number 18 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of '00s list. Notable performers such as Elvis Costello, David Archuleta, Kenny G and Chaka Khan have recorded covers of the song.

Because of its message of self-empowerment and inner beauty, the song was embraced as an anthem by the LGBT community. The Jonas Åkerlund directed music video earned Aguilera a GLAAD Media Award for its positive portrayal of gay and transgender people. In 2011, UK LGBT Rights organization Stonewall named "Beautiful" the most empowering song of the previous decade for gay, lesbian and bisexual people.